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Yesterday, Maison Martin Margiela held an intimate cocktail event to celebrate the launch of “Crystalactite”— a new jewelry collection designed in collaboration with Atelier Swarovski—at the MMM Boutique in Miami’s Design District. The event—appropriately timed to fall during Art Basel and, thus, a prime time for any fashion brand to highlight an artist collaboration—also marked the debut of an exclusive installation by French artist Baptiste Debombourg entitled “Stalker”, created specifically to celebrate the new collection.

First, let’s talk about the jewels. The designer, who is known for his use of unconventional materials and commitment to form over function, lent his signature avante-garde style to the limited-edition collection. They were created using an innovative fusion technique that blends crystal and matte white resin so that the crystals appear to emerge spontaneously from their natural, stony origin. The result is a 4 piece collection that successfully combine Margiela’s more industrial aesthetic with the purity of Swarovski crystals.

Using the jewelry as inspiration, Debombourg, who is known for his sculpture installations and study of everyday raw materials, designed his site-specific installation using shattered, laminated glass. He arranged the glass in cascading layers over furniture so that the resulting structure resembles stalactites, perfectly pairing with the aesthetic of the jewelry collection. The artist was an obvious choice for the designer, as the two also collaborated back in the Fall when Debombourg transformed MMM’s rue de Grenelle, Paris boutique by recreating his famous “Turbo” installation specifically customized for the store. Turbo was originally erected in 2009 for Parcours Saint-Germain in partnership with FIAC and was inspired by the turbo wave of the 1980s, challenging the notion of masculine power. Within the store context, it was as if the wall of the store was exploding into the interior.

If you are down in Miami, be sure to stop by the Design District boutique to snatch up the limited-edition jewels and check out Debombourg’s installation.

Maison Ladurée engaged in its first artistic collaboration with Will Cotton. An obvious choice, the desert-loving artist designed a limited-edition box to house an equally limited-edition macaroon flavor: ginger-infused whipped cream. The artist collaborated on the flavor with Philippe Andrieu, Ladurée’s pastry chef, whom he had met originally in 2005 when he visited Andrieu in Paris to learn about macaroon baking to get inspiration for a painting he was working on. The two bonded over the fact that they had never encountered a ginger macaroon that tasted like real ginger, and thus, they challenged themselves to become the first. The box features the artist’s go-to muse, singer Hannah Cohen, wearing a whipped-cream dress.

The boxes debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach earlier this week, where they can be purchased at the confectioner’s new boutique. Or, if you are dying to get your hands on this mouth-watering flavor, pick one up at Parisian boutique collete’s pop-up Art Drive-Thru, a collaboration with Miami boutique Alchemist. Inspired by a retro mid-century drive-thru, customers have to indeed drive up to the window to purchase special, limited-edition merchandise, including pieces from Zaha Hadid’s jewelry line, works by Snarkitecture, and winter accessories by Thom Browne. Open only from December 2-8, be sure to stop by if you are in town.

ACRIA—an organization founded in 1991 with a mission to pioneer the newest HIV health education and therapies, and get that information and those drugs into the hands of the people who need them the most—has benefited from the enduring support of the fashion and art community since its inception. Many artists donate works to the nonprofit to sell, into order to raise funds to help achieve their mission. It comes as no surprise, then, that two leaders in the art and fashion community have teamed up to create a limited edition t-shirt sold exclusively on ACRIA’s website to benefit the Young Friends of ACRIA (YFA). Wu sits on the Leadership Committee of the YFA, an organization for professionals under 50 interested in advancing ACRIA’s mission. The shirt comes in multiple sizes ranging from Extra Small to Large. Snatch up this awesome collaborative tee and support a great cause at the same time!

Ladies and Gents, it has been too long. I have spent the past three weeks working crazy hours at work and then taking a much-needed vacation hiking through the Dolomites in Italy. Talk about a breathtaking part of the world. But now it’s back to reality, with Fashion Week already in full force here in New York, and galleries preparing for their fall show openings. And me, I’m back to blogging, starting with a major art + fashion collaboration for the Fall season.

Alexander McQueen has enlisted British artist Damien Hirst (who, you might remember, recently collaborated with the Row on a line of handbags) to create 30 limited-edition scarves in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the brand’s signature skull print scarf. The collaboration consists of one-off designs adapted from Hirst’s famous “Entomology” series, featuring butterflies, bugs, and spiders all worked into the shape of the geometric McQueen skull motif.

The McQueen skull print became an iconic piece almost immediately upon introduction by the brand’s late founder in the SS’03 collection. According to WWD, the brand tapped Hirst “because of his shared aesthetic vision, “in which an interest in symmetrical design is combined with strong references to the natural world.” Hirst is also well-known for using skull imagery in his artwork, most notably his 2007 For the Love of God, a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds. The scarves will be available in November at Alexander McQueen boutiques and online at alexandermcqueen.com. I am sure these will be coveted by fashionistas and art enthusiasts alike, so mark your calendars!

Roland Mouret‘s London outpost in Mayfair is set to host an Antonio Lopez in-store exhibition to celebrate the late fashion illustrator’s 70th birthday. Opening mid-September and remaining on view for five weeks, the exhibition will feature previously unseen works created for publications including Interview and The New York Times, alongside more recognizable pieces from the 60s-80s. London gallery East of Mayfair will present the exhibition online for those unable to see the works in person. Works in the upcoming exhibition will be available for purchase, and you can browse them online beginning on September 14th here.

Lopez’s work was brought back into the spotlight last year with the publication of the book Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex, & Disco, a career retrospective published by Rizzoli with a forward by Andre Leon Talley and an epilogue by Anna Sui. Suzanne Geiss concurrently hosted an exhibition, Antonio’s World, in her soho gallery which surveyed three decades of the illustrator’s creative output, including drawings, photographs, and ephemera. Lopez is most known for his seminal works throughout the 70s and 80s that adorned the pages of Vogue, WWD, Interview and The New York Times. Lopez was notorious for his drawings that commented on and took inspiration from contemporary culture. He worked with Karl Lagerfeld in the 70’s and helped to launch the careers of now-established models including Jerry Hall, Pat Cleveland, and Marisa Berenson, collectively known as “Antonio’s Girls.” The artist sadly passed away in 1987 from AIDS, but it is clear his legacy lives on in the worlds of both art and fashion.

Also launching in September, M.A.C. Cosmetics recently announced a one month, limited-edition collection inspired by Lopez. In keeping with the disco era theme, the makeup collection, which includes eye shadows, lip palettes and cosmetic bags, will feature bold vibrant colors such as electric blue and fuchsia. Atonio’s Girls were appropriately tapped to star in the print ad campaign, their outfits matching the collection colors and inspired by the glamorous look of the 70s. The collection launches online on September 5th and in stores September 12th.

“All of my collections draw on art for inspiration in one way or another, so it was a bit of a no brainer really! It was only a matter of time before my love of art and designing handbags fused together.”

-Lulu Guinness to WWD at the launch of her Paint Project limited edition clutch in London

Accessories designer Lulu Guinness’s two favorite worlds—art and fashion—have collided with the recent launch of “Paint Project,” a limited-edition capsule collection designed in collaboration with artist Joseph Steele. Guinness was inspired by Steele’s unique use of paint and his “experimental” approach to art, utilizing his technique in her collection in which paint is shotgunned and splattered onto the designers’s lip-themed clutches.

Party guests at the launch party in London last week watched as bags were created in real-time, soon to be sold on eBay with proceeds benefitting The Art Room, a charity that supports art therapy for children in need. The full 180-piece collection is available in LuLu Guinness stores and online.

The designer at the launch party last week

Paint-splattered handbags being created in real time at the launch party

Kenzo designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon wanted to do something different for their fall ad campaign, and different they did. The ad campaign encompasses a hint of surrealism as envisioned by two artistic collaborators: Maurizio Cattelan and the commercial photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, the two forces behind the biannual publication Toilet Paper. The duo developed out-of-the-box (or just plain weird, if you will) concepts such as an image in which two models are pinned to a specimen board alongside a variety of insects. Another ad, a billboard next to the High Line in NYC, features disembodied fingers.

“I want to give Kenzo a voice that is different from everything else,” Leon told the New York Times. Further explaining that the vibe they were going for in the campaign was “weird and cool,” one would find difficulty in debating that they achieved their goal. And yet for those of you familiar with Cattelan’s work, it comes as no surprise that he was brought on for just that purpose. The artist recently made a splash in the art world (even though he had announced his retirement from the art world in 2011 on the eve of a major retrospective at the Guggenheim) with an installation at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where Toilet Paper editors have covered the windows with images from the magazine to celebrate the release of its eight issue. The installation is on view indefinitely.

For his first-ever makeup project, Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz has teamed up with Lancôme on a limited edition collection that hit stores just last week. Elbaz reimagined Lancôme’s four best-selling mascaras as curvaceous female bodies, lending his unmistakeable design style to the iconic product packaging of Hypnôse Drama, Hypnôse Doll Lashes, Hypnôse Star, and Définicils. But these weren’t just any women, they were the stylish fashionistas often seen in the front rows during fashion week, as depicted in this adorable animated video for the collection.

The nine-piece collection also includes a set of false eyelashes and four different Color Design Eye Shadow Palettes, each of which features the same design motifs as on the four mascaras: stars, polka dots, lashed eyelids, and hearts. Ladies – get ’em while they are hot, because these are sure to fly off shelves in no time.

Like this:

NET-A-PORTER, the luxury fashion ecommerce website, recently announced the launch of ART CAPSUL, a series of exclusive capsule collections of bespoke garments curated by art curator and style icon Stacy Engman. Beginning in July, the retailer will sell made-to-order items from top contemporary artists including Mickalene Tomas, Marina Abramovic, George Condo, Terence Koh, and Vik Muniz. ART CAPSUL will showcase iconic elements from each of the artists’ works (there most definitely will be some sort of swarovski-studded ensemble from Tomas!)

While we wait on pins and needles for the complete collection to be unveiled in just a few weeks, I bring you some works characteristic of the artists to get our minds working about what these bespoke items will look like!

This past weekend, luxury fashion brand Hermès threw a private party at the Moore Building in Miami’s Design District to fete the intersections of the house’s men’s and lifestyle lines, architecture, and art. “A Man’s World Miami”—the four-hour event hosted twice prior in Beijing and Paris—was the result of a collaboration between Hermès’s menswear director Véronique Nichanian and Argentine artist Leandro Erlich. Guests strolled down mirrored hallways and were asked to look down in order to see the artwork above their heads by Erlich, dubbed “Dream Climbers” based on the atrium of models in colorful attire (colorful Hermès attire, that is) perched on the rafters overhead.

In another room at the event, attendees found themselves within a vaulted alcove featuring a permanent installation by Zaha Hadid entitled “Elastika.” Within the room were elevator doors that would open and close, each time revealing something different from the Hermès mens lifestyle line and models in the brand’s most tailored looks, reminding guests why they were invited in the first place.

Additional rooms featured much of the same: 11 installations in total spanning three floors, in some way incorporating the brand’s men’s products, from clothing to shoes, watches, jewelry, and fragrances. Several of the installations were digitally interactive and illusionary. The goal was to showcase the universality of the brand’s offerings while simultaneously entertaining VIP clients with a unique experience.